1. Field
The present invention relates to a variable shelf assembly and a refrigerator having the same, and, more particularly, to a variable shelf assembly that is capable of changing the height of a shelf and a refrigerator having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a plurality of shelves are mounted in a storage compartment of a refrigerator. The shelves, which are vertically spaced apart from each other, partition the interior of the storage compartment into multi stages to increase the efficiency of the storage space utilization and accomplish easy receipt of food to be stored.
There has been proposed a refrigerator shelf that allows a user to change the height of the shelf if necessary. U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,584 discloses a variable shelf including a mounting member fixed to the rear of a storage compartment of a refrigerator, a shelf support member coupled to the mounting member such that the shelf support member is vertically movable, a shelf coupled to the shelf support member, and a lifting unit to lift the shelf support member.
The lifting unit includes a worm-type driving gear rotatable by the manipulation of a user, a driven gear rotatable by the driving gear, a gear shaft rotatable by the driven gear, two spur gears coupled to opposite ends of the gear shaft, and a gear box to rotatably support the driving gear and the gear shaft. The gear box is fixed to the shelf support member. The lifting unit further includes a gear bracket fixed to the mounting member and two rack gears mounted to opposite sides of the gear bracket such that the two rack gears are engaged with the two spur gears coupled to the opposite ends of the gear shaft. When the user rotates a rotary grip connected to the driving gear via an actuating rod, the two spur gears, coupled to the gear shaft, are rotated to lift the shelf support member.
However, this variable shelf of the refrigerator obstructs the circulation of cool air in the storage compartment because the mounting member and the shelf support member, adjacent to the rear of the storage compartment, cover a cool air circulation hole located at the rear of the storage compartment. This problem is further deepened when the position of the shelf support member is moved through the change in height of the shelf.
Furthermore, the structure of the lifting unit to lift the shelf support member is very complicated, and therefore, it is difficult to manufacture the variable shelf and the manufacturing costs of the variable shelf are high. Specifically, the lifting unit includes the two spur gears coupled to the opposite ends of the gear shaft, the two rack gears engaged with the two spur gears, and the gear bracket to support the two rack gears. Consequently, the number of parts of the lifting unit is large, and the structure of the lifting unit is complicated.